Ephraim spent aire day trying to wear her down. M, noon, and night—every meal became a battlefield. Every phone call, a sneak attack. He'd pop into her schedule like a ghost haunting its favorite spot, relentless until Ling Jialei finally smmed him down into a chair across from her at the dining table. Her fingers pi her temples, dark eyes locked onto him with the unwavering sharpness of a hawk.

  "I don't trust you, Yuyu. Not even half a bit." Her voice was low, carrying the weight of all her exhaustion. "Not alone. Not when that maniputive high-brand poser of a monkey is still lurking around. You're a hopeless romantic—always have been, always will be. Add that to how loyal you are..." She exhaled slowly through her nose. "It's a dangerous bination. What if you see that trash again and instantly decide you want to be a trash collector?"

  Ephraim blinked, genuinely impressed. If not for the circumstances, he'd have cpped for her performance.

  [Ephraim: Damn. What did Wang Jianyuan even do to deserve this level of pure, undiluted snder?]

  [Rachel: Nothing special. Ling Jialei's just a very good judge of character. Plus... she saw firsthand how an obsessive ex of her dad caused your parents' car act. She's been able to sniff out retionship drama from a mile away ever since.]

  [Ephraim: Wait, wait, wait. Obsessed ex? Car act? That's way too much plot to casually drop. Rachel, spill—]

  "Yuyu? Did you hear me?"

  Ling Jialei's voice cut through his internal entary. Her gaze softened, but the worry never left her face. "I'm just... scared for you, baby. I try not to trol you, but this... this makes me nervous."

  Ephraim leaned forward, resting his elbows oable. His shes lowered slightly as he sighed.

  "Jiejie... Listen. It's not him I'm going back for, okay? I promise." He paused, eyes flickering away. "I just... really want to go back. Just for a little while. After what happened on stage..." His voice trailed off, the weight of the i lingering in the space between them. At least it did for Ling Jialei. Ephraim was really trying hard to have gathering sympathy do his job at ving. "It made me realize... I could drop dead any sed. Life's uable... So what's the point of being scared? It's not worth it."

  Ling Jialei's gaze wavered.

  Ephraim tilted his head, a small grin breaking through the somber mood. "Besides... the men and women of that try... they're pretty o look at, you know?"

  He caught her exasperated sigh right before she reached across the table to flick his forehead.

  "Yuyu! How you ruin your owfelt speech like that?"

  Ephraim chuckled under his breath, rubbing the sore spot. But the moment of lightness quickly dimmed as Jialei's expression turned serious again.

  "Even if you two only text every now and then... he always finds your number no matter how many times I ge it. He'll know you're there eventually. What if—"

  "He won't know." Ephraim's smile faded. He pressed a hand to his chest, tapping lightly against his heart. "I swear, Jiejie. I don't like him anymore. I'm not going back for him. I just... really miss that pce. Please... just this once... trust me."

  Ling Jialei stared at him for a long moment. The ers of her mouth twitched, fightiweeand resignation. Finally, she slumped ba her chair with a long, drawn-out sigh.

  "I hate you so muetimes, Yuyu..."

  Ephraim's grin widened.

  "Love you too, Jiejie."

  Ling Jialei stared into his eyes for a long moment, her heart caught in a tug-of-war between worry and helpless indulgeno matter what she said, her little Ling Xiaoyu wouldn't budge.

  He was stubborn—always had been—but how could she ever win against those wide, pleading puppy dog eyes? Being an older sibling was truly the hardest job in the world.

  "I really did spoil you rotten... Fiwo ditions." She held up two fingers. "First, I’m putting a tracker on your phone. You have a knack fetting yourself into unfortuuations. Sed... you'll stay uhe care of a friend of mine while you're there. No living on your own. This way, I make sure you're safe... a regur reports on whatever nonsense you're up to."

  Ephraim’s brows twitched, clearly relut, but this was his ce—arguing now would only ruin it. He nodded obediently.

  With that settled, everything else fell into pce.

  He posted an apology letter on his social media, announg an indefinite hiatus. The message was lighthearted yet sincere, apologizing for the sudden disruption while expining that he'd been under immeress. He promised to take time for himself, to rest and e back healthier—both in body and mind.

  Though he'd prepared to reimburse all the tickets from the ill-fated cert, the gesture was met with an outp of love from fans. His inbox flooded with messages refusing the refund, urging him to take care of himself instead. Ephraim felt a pang of guilt... but also immense relief. That amount of money would have ed him out entirely—he'd been all set to dee Jialei's offer to cover the expenses, but being the "good little brother" he was, he'd insisted on handling it himself.

  Angels, the lot of them. If not for their kindness, he'd be oep away from dressing in rags.

  Pag was quick. While his sister and manager arranged for a private jet under a different pany's name—just to avoid any leaks—Ephraim wiped his old phone a it behind. He switched to a brand-new one, registered under an alias with only three tacts saved: Ling Jialei, Deng Hongjie, and his sister’s friend he'd be staying with.

  He cimed it was to enjoy a peaceful, stress-free vacation without ahering him.

  Jialei didn't fully uand what her brother nning, but seeing him take steps to avoid that perverted mo least put her mind at ease.

  However, all that peace shattered the moment she saw him striding towards the jet with the swagger of a queen walking the runway— one of her own long, flowy designer dresses.

  Her temples began to throb.

  "Is that my dress, Yuyu?"

  Ephraim twirled oarmac, the fabric fring around his legs. His silver-streaked hair swayed, and his heteroatic eyes sparkled with mischief.

  "Didn't know I had a waist this snatched, Jiejie. I should wear women's clothes more often."

  Jialei squeezed her eyes shut, inhaled deeply, and pihe bridge of her nose.

  God help her friend who was soon going to be watg over him.

  "I won't even ask how you're so good at makeup... And that wig looks way too real... Why have you bee a Xiaoying?"

  "Ooooh~ Ling Xiaoying. I like that. Better ge my at hao that now~"

  Ephraim grinned happily, tapping away at his phone. "I wao hide my superstar identity. Women's clothing is the best option. Fans reize their star eveh a mask. But nobody would expect me to go as far as dressing like a woman."

  "You just want an excuse to dress prettily."

  "I want an excuse to dress prettily."

  Ephraim nodded solemnly. "I also want to keep using social media. Posing as a different person will help me do just that."

  Ling Jialei's lips twitched into a helpless smile before she pulled him into a tight hug. "Go py to your heart's tent... but don't get into too much trouble, okay?"

  Ephraim hugged back with a warm smile. "Okay."

  The flight to the Ling siblings' home try eaceful—at least for everyone except the flight attendant Ephraim had set his sights on.

  He flirted all the way with the pretty attendant—or attempted to, because he was absolutely horrible at it. It was his first time trying anything like this, and it showed.

  "Ma'am, are you a flight pn? Because without you, my heart has no dire."

  "I am merely a flight attendant, Sir."

  When his meal was served:

  "Ma'am, are you a peanut? Because I'm nuts about you."

  "I am allergic to peanuts, Sir. Even the word makes me unfortable."

  As the destination neared:

  "You must be from Switzernd, because you've ralized all my doubts about love."

  "As of yet, I have no knowledge of any Swiss ary, Sir."

  Later, when he was fiddling with the tablet in his hands, expl the many games he'd never had the ce to try in his previous life, he attempted o line:

  "There's no need for a queen in my chessboard... I've already found mine."

  The flight attendant's eyes remained calm. "I actually identify as a man, Sir. But society makes me pose as a dy."

  Without missing a beat, Ephraim leaned in, eyes sparkling. "Oh, then. I've already found my king."

  [Rachel: The king is the most useless piece, baby boy.]

  [Ephraim: Could you not have told me this beforehand? I know jack about chess, okay?]

  [Rachel: You weren't impressing the darling anyway. You should probably apologize for wasting their time.]

  Ephraim's ego was bruised by the end of the flight. He made a tiny vlog out of his experience, sincerely believing he had been a Chad. When he posted it ter, the video went viral—though not quite for the reasons he expected.

  The ents poured in.

  [MentallyUnavaible: This was so sedhand embarrassing I had to physically leave my house.]

  [TaxEvasionButMakeItRomantic: Sis, I muted this video, and my quality of life improved instantly.]

  [IQDroppingLive: Your face is doing 99% of the work. Unfortunately, your words are doing -200%.]

  [LingXiaoying'sUnpaidMaruly the definition of 'She's so pretty, she doesn't need a personality.']

  [ProfessionalLurker69: I respect the fidence, but at what cost?]

  [IigativeNoodle: Did you practi a mirror beforehand? Because if so, that mirror herapy.]

  [ISpeedIsMyVilinArc: Blink twice if this was a hostage situation for the flight attendant.]

  [ShrimpKing88: What if he watches this video aly regrets rejeg you? Slow burn romance plot unlocked.]

  [DetectiveButBroke: Sis looks so much like Ling Xiaoyu. If only she had his rizz to match.]

  Ephraim withe cept of cyberbullying for the first time. His only soce was disc his favorite follower out of the entire ordeal—the very empathetic, very sweet, very glorious ShrimpKing88.

  But that was for ter. For now, he finally disembarked at a rather obscure airport at an odd hour—one of Rachel's many small suggestions to keep his presence hidden.

  Wang Jianyuan had taken several opportuo reach out after the i on stage, but Ephraim had no energy to reply and ighem all. To avoid any ce of being found, he had even flown straight back to his home try the same day Wang Jianyua it to search for him at where he lived now. Ling Jialei would surely have a bst once she came across him there.

  When Ephraim finally stretched and gnced around for his luggage, his eyes caught sight of the man waiting for him at the terminal.

  He blihen stared for a sed longer.